Fides Malus Procuro
by William Jamieson
Summary: The world of Sanctuary is under threat and with it, Earth as we know it. A Slayer is needed. But there are complications.....
1. Prelude

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Release  
  
===============  
  
  
  
If I could only have you near  
  
To breathe a sigh or two  
  
I would be happy just to hold the hands I love  
  
Upon this winter's night with you   
  
And to be once again with you  
  
- "Song for a Winter's Night (The Hands I Love)"  
  
Jewel and Sarah McLachlan  
  
  
  
Day in day out, it was the same. Wake up, stare at the four walls (well, three and the bars), eat out, yard exercise, shower, eat out again, and back in the cell. No fuss, no change, totally boring. But for the first time in her life, Faith welcomed it. It allowed her to think. It had never been her strong point. As she had told Buffy all those months ago, she was a "want-take-have" sort of girl. Now, she clung to it as she had clung to little else in her life. It reminded her of the thing she had become, a thing that she no longer wished to be. The other inmates had no idea, of course. They only knew she was in here for murder, not the rest of it. Not the parts that made the murder seem petty.  
  
The rattling of her cell door sliding open jolted her out of her thoughts. She had not even heard the guard approach. "Hey, you. Faith-" The guard paused and looked back down at the clipboard in his hand.  
  
"It's just Faith," the Slayer said tiredly. "What do you want?"  
  
"Okay, Just Faith. You are out. Come on, move it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You. Are. Out," the guard repeated slowly, rolling his eyes. "Released, let loose, free."  
  
She stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment. Then, his words penetrated. "No! There must be some mistake! I killed Allen Finch. This is supposed to be payback."  
  
Her words caught him by surprise. He had been a guard for decades and had seen more than one wrongfully accused man vindicated. But this was the first time he had seen this reaction. "Not according to this, you are not. New evidence states that you were not even in the area when it happened. Come on. I don't have time for this." He stepped into the cell but stopped when Faith cowered back into the corner.  
  
"No. This is my place. This is where I belong. Where I deserve to be," she said softly, almost to herself.  
  
"Look, lady. I don't know who put that notion in your head, but you don't belong here anymore than the Queen of England." The guard regarded her with something akin to pity and sympathy. "Come on. Maybe they'll explain things to you better." He made the mistake of taking hold of her hand. In a flash, he was up against the wall with her right forearm at his throat. *Shit! She's a lot stronger than she looks*. "Lady, you don't want to do this," he gasped out. "This is not going to help you. Faith!"  
  
The mention of her name seemed to bring her to herself. Faith blinked and dropped him like hot coals. She collapsed back down on her bed, her hands held before her eyes. "No, no, no, no, no," she moaned softly. "I- I just-"  
  
"It's okay. I guess I shouldn't have grabbed you. We have to go. Someone is waiting for you." Docilely, she let herself be led out of the cell. "Got anything you wanna keep?" he asked.  
  
Numbly, she looked back at the Spartan cell. "No." If she was getting out, it would be a new life. She'd leave all the old things behind. Except the memories. That she would always carry, particularly of one person and all the things that might have been before she destroyed it.  
  
The guard took her to what he referred to as the check-in counter. She did not even smile when he said that. With a sigh and a slight shake of the head, he handed the clipboard to the man behind the grilled window.   
  
"Faith."  
  
The Slayer turned around at the familiar voice. "Lilah." The two eyed each other appraisingly. "Whatever it is, I'm not interested," Faith told the lawyer. "I don't do that anymore."  
  
Lilah sniffed. "I'm not here to hire you. I'm here to fulfil a contract. Nothing more."  
  
"You got me out."  
  
"Let us just say our client had evidence that was compelling for your case. I was told to give you this when you got out." Lilah handed over a knapsack. "I'd wish you luck, but I doubt you'd appreciate it." With those parting words, the lawyer left.  
  
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It was still a very dazed Faith that walked out of the prison complex. This time, though, she sensed the person approaching her. "Hello, Faith." She turned to face the young man. He was dressed casually in a plain white T-shirt and jeans.  
  
"Do I know you?" she asked warily.  
  
"In a way. You hungry?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Ah. You are, how do you say it, five by five, eh?"  
  
She blinked. "Who-"  
  
"We know all about you, Faith. We have watched your every move. You were to be their champion." He gestured upwards and shook his head. "But you were such a disappointment to them."  
  
Faith's temper snapped. She had been content in that prison, willing to accept her punishment and atone for her past sins. They had dragged her out, tossed her on the street without so much as a "by your leave". Worse, it had been that bitch from Wolfram and Hart that did it. And now, she was getting lectured by this, this- Her thoughts stilled as did her body.  
  
"Oh, good," the man said. "Finally, the Slayer shows herself." His voice grew stern and his tone less irreverent. "You wanted to atone for your past misdeeds, Faith. Throwing yourself in prison was a laudable attempt, but the world, no, the worlds, do not need a girl full of self-pity. They need a Slayer. And so, we are giving you a chance to wipe the slate clean."  
  
"You are from the Powers That Be, aren't you? Angel told me a bit about you guys." A sudden realisation struck her. "It was you! You are that bitch's client. I thought you are the good guys!"  
  
"The irony of using Evil's own instruments against itself had not escaped us," the young man said with a faint smile.  
  
But Faith was not listening. Her mind was replaying that last few bits of conversation. There was something nagging her about it. Finally, she figured it out. "Wait a sec. You said 'need a Slayer'. What about B? She's the Slayer, right?"  
  
"I'm sorry. You do not know," the man said softly. "She died last night, sacrificing her life for her sister's and saving the world once again in the process."  
  
*No!* Faith's knees buckled and the young man caught her as she fell. She barely heard the man describe the fight with Glory and the sacrifice and final meeting between Buffy and Dawn just before she jumped off the tower. *Too late. Always too late. I'm sorry, B. So. Very. Sorry.* Faith did something that she rarely ever did. She cried. She cried from grief and loss, for the might-have-beens and the should-have-beens. She cried for reasons that she had barely even acknowledged, but she cried all the same. And the man held her through the storm of her emotions. Finally, she subsided. "Angel," she said, struggling to get on her feet. "We-I must-"  
  
"He already knows. He took it well, all things considered."  
  
"Considered what? Considered-"  
  
"Don't go there, Faith. It doesn't help."  
  
"What doesn't help?" she snapped.  
  
"The anger. The need to place the blame. Buffy chose the path she walked. She could have left at any time, but she stayed to fight."  
  
"And she died."  
  
"Yes, she did. But she gladly died so that others might live. She died for her sister, her friends, her mentor. She died for the billions that do not even know her. She died to prevent a Hell on Earth that would have destroyed everything. Everyone dies, Faith. It is how we lived and how we die that makes us who we are."  
  
Faith stood there for a long time, staring off into the shadows, remembering the past, seeing the present, and envisioning the future. His words fanned the flames within her. Redemption. It beckoned to her with a lure she cannot ignore. Not this time. "What do you want me to do?"  
  
The young man smiled. He took her hand and then, they were somewhere… else.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
White swirling mists surrounded her, and pure white light was everywhere, and yet, nowhere. It was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. Watching the mist as it played and danced to a wind she cannot feel, she felt peace. The grief was still there, the guilt and the fears that she once tried so desperately to hide behind that brash exterior. But now, there was calmness and an acceptance that she had never felt before. Idly, she wondered if it was this place that did it and she wondered if this was how Buffy felt about being a Slayer.  
  
"No, Faith," said the voice behind her. A voice that caused her to stiffen and tingles to run down her spine. "I fought it. I tried to run away." Buffy opened her arms as Faith leaped into them. "But, in the end, it didn't matter."  
  
Tears were trailing down her cheeks again. "B. Oh God, B. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I-"  
  
"I know. They really let you see everything up here. And I saw you."  
  
"You know you are not supposed to be here, right, Buffy?" They had forgotten about the young man and they both turned to see him looking at them with amusement dancing in his eyes.  
  
"I know, but I can't-"  
  
He held up a hand. "I understand. My job, remember? We have time. One minute wouldn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things. I'll be back in a minute, and you, young ladies, had better be ready."  
  
"One?" Faith screamed in outrage as he dissolved into swirling white lights and disappeared.  
  
"It's okay, Faith. One minute can be a long time here."  
  
Faith turned to look at her fellow Slayer. She had never seen Buffy so relaxed, so at ease, even with Angel. "You like it here, don't you?"  
  
"It's peaceful. And my mom is here and my friends. Some of them anyway. But listen, Faith. I didn't come here to talk about me. I'm here because of you. We never got a chance to patch things up. And I don't think I would have, could have, accepted your apologies. But dying and being up here has a way of changing that. I'm happy here. Let it go, Faith. Let me go. Live. No more guilt, no more apologies. Just live. For me and everyone else. And be happy. Promise?" She said the last in a little girl voice and Faith could only laugh in response.  
  
"I promise, B." She saw the swirling lights at the edge of her vision. "And when I get back, I will look after them. Your sister and the rest of them. I swear I will."  
  
Buffy smiled. "And you'll keep them safe. I know you will. I trust you."  
  
Faith nearly cried again at those words. It took her awhile to regain control enough to speak. "This is good-bye, isn't it?" she asked, her voice husky.  
  
"Yes." Buffy kissed her. "Good-bye, Faith." Then, she stepped back and faded away.  
  
"I'll be seeing you, B." Faith stood there staring at the place where Buffy was for sometime. She shook herself once and turned to the young man. "Right. Let's get this over with. I have people to see and places to go. Who do I have to kill?"  
  
"Only one of the most powerful demons in existence."  
  
"Oh, nothing too dangerous, then, huh?"  
  
The young man waved a hand and a patch of the mist cleared, allowing her to look into a land of lush jungles, grassy plains, tall mountains and harsh deserts. "This is Sanctuary. This is where you'll be going. The first thing you should know about it is that it is a land of magic. Wave a hand and a fireball blast your enemies, that kind of thing. You have a thing there in your pack to help you with that. Don't worry, it comes with instructions. The second thing is that it is a medieval world, so don't expect to catch a bus to the next town. The third thing is that it stands between Earth and Hell."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Our dimension is but one of many. But you cannot just jump from dimension to dimension. If the dimensions are next to each other, however, a relatively simple portal spell can, if done correctly, send a person from one to the other. The Hellmouth is like a wormhole, if you will. It connects two dimensions regardless of distance between the two. So, now, the demons of Hell are confined to the Hellmouth. If they take Sanctuary, it would be, as you say, a whole new ballgame."  
  
"So you want me to stop them doing that."  
  
"Essentially. The history between Sanctuary and the place you call Hell is a long and involved one. Centuries ago, there was a revolution in Hell. The Lesser Evils overthrew the three Prime Evils and cast them out to Sanctuary. There, they wrecked untold evil until they were trapped within three soulstones by a clan of mages known as the Horadrim. One soulstone was kept in Kurast and another in the deserts near Lut Gholein. The third, and the one you are most concerned with, was thrown into the deep catacombs below the village of Tristram. There, a descendant of the Horadrim has kept a close eye on it ever since."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. He blinked."  
  
"Not exactly. Recently, there was a great disturbance in Tristram. The Archbishop Lazarus discovered the soulstone and, whether he was turned by the demon within or just saw it as a road to power, we are not sure. He kidnapped the king's son and bound the soulstone within the boy. That gave the demon a way to become flesh. A warrior went into the catacombs and finally defeated the demon. He bound the soulstone within himself, thinking that he would be able to withstand the demonic urges and keep the demon confined."  
  
"I'll take another guess and say, 'Oops!'?"  
  
"Good to see you back, too, Slayer," the young man replied. Faith grinned at him. "Yes. He underestimated the demon. It must have taken him over as well. Tristram is destroyed and the Dark Wanderer, as he is now called, was last seen heading east towards Lut Gholein. We suspect that he may be trying to locate and free his brothers. If this is the case, Sanctuary is lost as there is no one left alive that can contain them anymore. The ancient mage orders, sadly, have dwindled in numbers and power."  
  
"So you want me to go kill this beastie and that's it, right?"  
  
The man nodded. "Be careful, Faith. Diablo, together with his brothers, may well be the most powerful demons ever. They would make any demon or vampire you have met so far seem like child's play. Even Kakitos." Faith paled visibly at the mention of that name, but it brought home the seriousness of what she was dealing with. "Find Diablo and destroy him before he accomplishes whatever it is that he has in mind. Good luck and God go with you."  
  
"Yeah. And you, too." Faith took a step forward and found herself somewhere else again. 


	2. Chapter 1:1 A Single Step

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A Single Step…  
  
=====================  
  
Do you feel your head is full of thunder?  
  
Questions never end?  
  
Empty nights alone?  
  
No wonder  
  
It all comes back again  
  
- "Under the Gun"  
  
The Sisters of Mercy  
  
"Hello, there!" Faith instinctively went into a crouch and turned towards the voice. "Whoa-ho-ho!" the man said, holding both hands up. "No need for that here."  
  
"Who are you?"  
  
"My name is Warriv. I must say that I am not surprised to see your kind here. Many adventurers have travelled this way since the recent troubles began. No doubt you've heard about the tragedy that befell the town of Tristram. Some say that Diablo, the Lord of Terror, walks the world-"  
  
"Where is he?" Faith asked, interrupting what seem to becoming a long-winded ramble.  
  
"Who? Diablo?"  
  
"No, the tooth fairy. Of course Diablo."  
  
"I think you had better talk to Akara. She is the leader of this camp and she may know more than I." he pointed at an older woman sitting by the fire outside her tent.  
  
For the first time, Faith looked around. Tall palisade walls surrounded the small encampment. A few tents and wagons were crammed into that little area. The people of the place seemed to be primarily warrior women armed with an assortment of bows and spears. "Thanks," she said and turned to walk away.  
  
"I plan to leave this place for Lut Gholein if the monastery gates reopen," Warriv said as she turned away. "If you are still alive then, I'll take you along if you wish."  
  
"Yeah. Thanks for the vote of confidence," Faith muttered, wondering what he was talking about. An impressive looking warrior woman walked up just before she could reach Akara.  
  
"Welcome, outlander, to our glorious hovel." The mocking tone and the condescending look she gave Faith made her bristle. "I know you are here to challenge the evil that's driven us from our ancestral home. But know this. Akara may be our spiritual leader, but I command the Rogues in battle. It would take more than just killing a few beasts in the wilderness to earn my trust."  
  
The old Faith would have taken that as a challenge and would have proceeded to beat this woman to a pulp. But the new Faith just stared at her until a smaller form put a hand on her arm. She turned to look at Akara. The other woman snorted and left. "Ignore Kashya. The recent troubles and the loss of so many of our sisters weigh heavily upon her," Akara said. "I am Akara, High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. I welcome you, traveller, to our camp, but I am afraid I can offer but poor shelter within these rickety walls."  
  
Faith sighed inwardly. It seems that these people were all pretty long-winded. "I was sent here to deal with a demon. Do you know where I can find Diablo?"  
  
"There were rumours that Diablo has risen, but I do not know where he might be."  
  
"How about a Dark Wanderer, then?"  
  
"There was such a man. But he left some time ago, heading east. Shortly after he left, we were driven from our Citadel. It guards the only pass over the mountains and until it is back within our hands, no one can go further east."  
  
"Great. Just great! Don't you ever make things simple?" Faith shouted at the sky. "Only have to kill a demon, he said. Dangerous, he said. But nothing about a goddamned… Ugh!"  
  
Akara watch her silently as she ranted. "If you wish to re-take the Citadel, you will need the help of the Sisterhood," she said when Faith's tirade finally ended. "And to do that, you would need to earn Kashya's trust." Faith made a face. "No matter how distasteful that may seem to you."  
  
"Oh, fine. What should I do?"  
  
"I don't know. Kashya has changed since we were cast out. She has become harder and less trusting of outsiders."  
  
Faith sighed. "Got a place for a homeless traveller to sleep-" she raised her voice and glared heavenward "-while she figures out what she is supposed to do since she has no fucking clue what to do now?"  
  
"I believe we have a spare tent somewhere," Akara replied.  
  
Faith followed her and ignored the smile on the older woman's lips.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
It was almost nightfall when Faith got settled in. They found her a tent belonging to a Rogue that was killed earlier in the week while out on a scouting mission. Now, she looked around the place from where she sat on the pile of blankets that served as her bed. Whoever the Rogue was, she was not a good housekeeper. Scattered bits of armour and clothing littered the floor and a few extra quivers of arrows and a spare bow was tossed haphazardly in a corner. A small chest sat near the head of the bed and the few personal articles on it suggests that it was used as a makeshift table. Relocating the articles to the floor, Faith opened the chest. Bright colourful cloth spilled forth.  
  
Dresses and skirts. Reminders of better times, when battle and death were not the daily routine. She stuffed the clothing back into the chest and slammed it shut.  
  
With a sigh, she grabbed her pack and opened it. Grabbing the book within, she was about to drop the pack back to the ground when something caught her eye. She looked back in the pack again. Sure enough, there were a few sets of clothes and some other accessories, far more than what the pack should be able to hold. Shaking her head slightly, she flipped open the book and started to read.  
  
*Faith, by the time you are reading this, you should have realised that the pack is not as it seems. Don't worry. It is supposed to be like that. Now, look in the pack, there should be a pair of wristbands in there. Put these on immediately. These are your lifelines. They will help even the odds against the kind of magic and supernatural creatures that you will encounter. When you swing at something, think of the kind of effects you would like it to have, fire, lightning, ice, whatever. Try it out.*  
  
The Slayer took a swing at empty air. She nearly jumped out of her skin when flames shot out of the wristbands to envelope her hand. Frantically, she started beating at her hand in an effort to put out the flames before realising that the flames were not hurting her at all. After a few seconds, the flames died away. "Wow!" she breathed. "I am so gonna like this!"  
  
*Now, on to the second part of the equalisers. There is a little neckband in there as well. Place it so that the jewel faces forward. The neckband was a black ribbon about half-an-inch wide with a large teardrop-shaped emerald hanging from it. Surrounding the emerald was a filigree of white gold and diamonds. This little device would allow you to see in the dark as if it was a full moon and then some. The other stuff are more mundane. The jumpsuit would protect you against the more extreme of the weather conditions you may face and the armour that goes over it would protect you against most of the elemental magicks used against you.*  
  
Faith changed into the jumpsuit and found that it was a lot more comfortable than the jeans and shirt combination she had on. The armour took a little longer to figure out as it had two thin vests, the first being a leathery affair and the second looked and felt like a flak vest but much less bulky and heavy. In the end, she put the leather vest over the flak vest. She noted the pair of sneakers and a bunch of rolled-up socks in the pack for future reference.  
  
*Weapons. You'll need them. This isn't your usual Slaying jaunt. First, the bracers.* The plastic and metal fore-arm guards terminated in a half glove that covered the palm and the backs of the hand but left the fingers and thumb free. Faith had to slide her fingers into the glove first before strapping on the bracers. *There are a couple of blades hidden in there. Make a fist. Bend your hand inwards and then outwards again until you hear a click. Mentally form the image of a sword blade.* Despite being ready for it, Faith still jumped when the blade shot out of her right bracer with a metallic rasp. She turned her hand experimentally and was surprised to find that the blade turned with it, meaning that the blade was somehow attached to the black of the glove rather than the bracer itself. A closer examination allowed her to find the multiple stiff tracks hidden within the leather of the glove that must be what the blade rode out on. She bent her hand so that the track sections met the similar ones on the bracer and the blade slid back into its housing with another metallic rasp. With a bit more reading and a few tries, she had the technique of baring the blades, keeping them bared and retracting them at will.  
  
Also in the pack was a sheathed sword. The hilt and crosspiece was of a black metal that she could not identify, not that she knew all that much about metals, but the blade was made of some shimmering crystal that seemed to glow with some internal light. There was no mention of the sword in the little book. Faith read and reread the book three times, but in addition to the description and instructions on how to use the other items, she only found some more history of the place, a map and some descriptions of some of the lands of this world as well as the more important cities and other points of interest.  
  
Finally, she gave up, blew out the oil lamp and drifted off to sleep with the crystal sword cradled in her arms.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The sound of someone crashing through her tent's entrance brought her awake. "What the-?"  
  
A large woman stalked into the tent. Faith took one look at the moaning Rogue on the floor and the blue-skinned woman in tattered leathers and leapt off her bed. The unknown warrior was not prepared for an assault. A kick to her hand caused her to drop her spear. With an inhuman snarl, she turned to face Faith. The Slayer ducked the first swipe, noting the long claw-like nails. The warrior followed the swipe with a leap that sent the both of them to the ground. Trapped underneath the inhumanly strong woman that was a whole head and a half taller than her, Faith knew she was in trouble. Big trouble. She had underestimated the people of this place. A few blows to the ribs only enraged the woman. A fist to the Slayer's jaw made her see stars. By the time she shook off the stunning effects of the blow, the woman was straddling her, hand already on a downward blow that would tear her throat out. Instinctively, Faith blocked the blow. The woman made a grunt of pain when her forearm smashed into the bracer. The bracer! Faith held up her free hand and the blade slid into place, right into the woman's heart. The warrior gave a choked gasp, staring at Faith incredulously and toppled off to the side  
  
.  
  
"Jeez, what the Hell is that?" Faith asked, approaching the fallen Rogue. The Rogue was moaning softly in pain, but at the sound of Faith's voice, she struggled to bring a short sword up. "Hey! I'm not gonna hurt you."  
  
"Who are you?" The Rogue's eyes were looking around frantically. "Where are you, monster?"  
  
*What?* "I'm right here." Suddenly, something clicked. The Rogue could not see her because it was too dark in the tent. It was the neckband that allowed her to see anything at all. Faith knocked the sword aside. The Rogue immediately tried to get away, but the Slayer easily restrained her. She stopped struggling when she realised that the Slayer was not going to kill her. "What is going on?" she asked. Grabbing a blanket, she shredded it and started to bandage the deep cuts on the Rogue's arms and leg.  
  
"Attack. They are attacking the camp. A few got through, but more outside."  
  
"Damn it. Here, you finish up." Faith grabbed the Rogue's sword and put it in her hand.  
  
Outside the tent, it was chaos. A few tents were on fire. There was only one entrance to the camp, but it was just an opening in the wall. The Rogues were defending it but now and then, a group of the attackers broke through their ranks. But instead of attacking the Rogues from the rear, they are charging into the camp. They are looking for something. Or someone, Faith thought as she saw them making a beeline for Akara's tent. She headed that way.  
  
When she got there, the fight was in full swing. Kashya and a couple of her Rogues had intercepted the little group. Surprisingly, Warriv was there also, swinging a scimitar and nimbly dodging blows. But the defenders were outnumbered two to one. They will not last. Faith hit the attackers from the rear, her blades caving in a skull and cleaving a heart in two in the first pass. She was in her element now, and the fight ended quickly with the Slayer in the fray.  
  
Faith was wiping her blades clean when the forms of the attackers registered in her mind. Despite the bluish skin and deeper blue traceries of veins, the faces were unmistakeably human. Faith sank to her knees next to one that she had stabbed in the heart. Behind her, she could hear someone approaching and the low murmurs of voices. "No," she whispered, frantically turning the body over, first one way, then another, hoping against hope to find something that would prove her wrong. She found none. "Oh, God."  
  
Kashya had to skip out of the way when the Slayer suddenly fell backwards and began back-pedalling away from the corpses. She watched as the Slayer bumped up against a low stone wall and began staring at her hands. "Akara," she called when the Slayer started to wipe her hands frantically on the gravel, not caring about the cuts the sharp pebbles were inflicting on her exposed fingers.  
  
"No. Not again. Please, God, no." Faith looked at her hands again. They were covered in blood, just like the time that she had stabbed Allen. She tried to wipe them off again, but every time she looked, it was there. So much blood. Someone grabbed her hands and tried to force her to stop, but she fought them. She wanted, no, needed, to get it off. Another human being. She killed another one. Eventually, Kashya was forced to knock her out to stop her from harming herself. 


	3. Chapter 1:2

Daughter of Night - The weapons Faith use are like the Assassin's katars. However, the katars used by the Assassin are actually hand-held punching devices (though the claws also slash). You actually hold them by a cross-piece/handle (which is why there is always a two prong thing behind the blade and a piece of metal connecting the two prongs), sometimes braced against the back of the hand or the forearm by other sheets/strips of metal for slashing. Faith's weapons are fully retractable into the bracer and, when extended, firmly attached to the back of the hand, which means that she can theoretically use her hands for doing something else. I'd draw a picture to illustrate the difference, but I don't have a homepage to put it on. Just think of Wolverine's claws (from the X-Men comics, not the movie), crossed with an Assassin's katar. It *is* possible to create such a weapon in real life, but even modern materials are not strong enough to allow for constant usage, especially the extension mechanism.  
  
Hopes this answers your question :)  
  
PS. My main characters are Sorceresses and Assassins on D2:LoD  
  
===============================================================================  
  
Faith sat up, a scream still ringing in her ears.  
  
"Are you alright?" She turned to look at the Rogue in the next bed. "You were screaming," the Rogue continued. She was a pretty girl, green-eyed, with her long red-brown hair tied back in a pony tail.  
  
"Nothing," Faith replied. "Bad dream."  
  
"Oh." There was an awkward silence. Then, the Rogue blurted out, "Thank you. For last night."  
  
For the first time, Faith noticed the clean bandages on the Rogue's right shoulder, left arm and left leg. She dredged through her rather hazy memory and came up with a face. This was the Rogue that had burst into her tent. "No problem. It's my job." She tried to remember more, certain that there was something she was forgetting.  
  
Akara and Kashya came through the tent entrance to find the Slayer staring at her hands. "Not again," Kashya muttered as Akara went over. "What happened?" she asked her soldier.  
  
"I don't know. One minute we were talking and the next, she was like that," the Rogue replied.  
  
"I killed another human," Faith whispered when Akara sat down on the bed next to her. "I-I-"  
  
"You saved our lives, Faith," Akara. "If it had not been your intercession, we'd all be dead. I would be dead."  
  
"So much blood. I killed another human, don't you see? That is not what I was Called to do! Oh, Gods. Buffy, I failed. I'm sorry. I failed." Faith wrapped herself up into a little ball and started rocking.  
  
Kashya raised an eyebrow at the other Rogue. "I don't know. She mentioned that name in her sleep."  
  
"Faith," Akara said.  
  
"Just can't change. I'm sorry. Always be bad."  
  
"What is wrong with her, Akara?" There was genuine concern in Kashya's voice. The Slayer had saved their lives and that was something she was not going to forget.  
  
"I feel remorse, guilt. Something happened in the past that is affecting her like this. Faith," she called softly, stroking the Slayer's hair. "Faith, you did not kill a human."  
  
Faith shook off her hand. "Don't lie to me! They were humans. Just like you and me!"  
  
"They were NOT!" Kashya's shout startled everyone in the room. "They once were," she continued softly. "Our sisters. But when the Citadel fell, many of our sisters were corrupted by Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish. What was once a living breathing human was twisted into the husks your saw last night. That is the ultimate torment for us, to fight those we know, the very sisters we were sworn to protect. And Andariel knows this! Damn her." She stalked out of the tent, anger evident in every line of her body.  
  
"It is true." Akara sighed. "The curse on our Sisterhood is deep and far more painful than any of us would ever admit."  
  
"So, they weren't human?" Faith asked, hope blossoming within her.  
  
"No. They may look human and act human, but their souls are twisted beyond recognition by Andariel's malice. Death is a release for them."  
  
Faith was silent for a long time, trying to digest this information. "I have to go east. I have to stop Diablo," she said at last.  
  
"And the only way east is through our Citadel." The two of them looked at each other. "I think it is time that you and Kashya have a talk. A real talk."  
  
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"I am sorry. I cannot spare anyone right now," Kashya said. "With the attack last night, I have less than two dozen sisters capable of fighting. I know you are doing the best you can, Akara, but it is not enough. We have too many wounded. If we leave the camp undefended, they would be easy prey for Blood Raven and her undead minions."  
  
"Wait a minute. I thought you said that the big bad is Andariel," Faith said.  
  
"Blood Raven was once a Rogue Captain," Akara replied. "She fought against Diablo in Tristram before it was destroyed. When she returned, she was changed. We are now certain that she was corrupted then and may have been the one to help put this curse on our Sisterhood."  
  
"She now openly fights on the side of Hell and spends her time plotting our destruction and raising the dead to add to our miseries," Kashya concluded.  
  
"So, if we take her out, the threat to the camp is not so much, right?"  
  
"Yes, but even our best scouts have failed to destroy her. She was once one of our best warriors and she still is."  
  
"Where can I find her?" Faith asked.  
  
"I am certain that she would be in the Burial Grounds," Akara replied. "It has been the resting place of generations of the Sisterhood. After last night, she would be in need of more troops."  
  
"And where is that?"  
  
Kashya told her but added, "I do not think it is a good idea for you to go alone, Faith. Blood Raven is most likely to be surrounded by her minions."  
  
"And so she shall not." A man in gleaming platemail got up from his place beside the fire. He bowed to the group. "I have heard of your fighting prowess, my lady, and I would be honoured if you would allow me to join you in this quest. I am Leoric, of the Paladins of the Order of Westmarch, and am at your service." The two Rogues stared at him and he turned red. "I was named after the late King," he muttered.  
  
Faith considered him carefully. He was a large man and surprisingly graceful in that heavy mail. That meant strength. But strength does not mean as much in a fight as more people think, particularly not this one. It was his face that swayed her. There was humour there, steadfastness and intelligence. The brown eyes looked at hers directly, neither avoiding her gaze, nor challenging it. "On one condition. Get rid of that tin can." She pointed at his armour. "It's too noisy and too visible. We can't fight them all the way there."  
  
It was his turn to consider her. The armour was a part of him, as was his sword and shield. A paladin's armour is his strength, just as his sword fights for justice and his shield is the defender of truth. And this slip of a girl wants him to relinquish such a vital part of himself just before going into battle. She met his gaze and within them, he found his answer. She may be a slip of a girl, but there was pain in those eyes and grief and regret and loss. There was also determination and hope. *Strength is not an object to be polished and cherished.* "I accept, my lady." He extended his hand and was surprised at the strength of her grip.  
  
"Call me Faith."  
  
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"That must be Blood Raven," Leoric whispered as they watched the pale woman in red leathers and a spiked helm stand over the graves and started chanting in an eerie tongue.  
  
"No kidding, Tin Can." Faith had taken up calling him that even after he had accepted a set of hard leather armour from the Rogue blacksmith.  
  
"How do you want to do this?" the paladin asked, ignoring her jibe.  
  
"Well, we could introduce ourselves… or we can just charge..." She said it flippantly and was totally unprepared for her companion's reaction. Leoric burst from concealment and literally charged into the graveyard. Faith rose and fired the heavy crossbow that she had borrowed from the blacksmith. Her aim was perfect, but Blood Raven's minions, alerted by Leoric's approach, got in the way. The heavy bolt shattered the skulls of three skeletons before embedding itself in Blood Raven's left arm. The Slayer dropped the crossbow and ran into the graveyard, but Leoric was far ahead of her. Unhampered now by his heavy platemail, his strength is even more apparent as he kept pace with the Slayer and leapt shield first into a large group of skeletons, bringing the whole lot down. He quickly rolled to his feet, leaving broken bones in his wake and charged another group of skeletons.  
  
The paladin's attack had given Faith a straight opening to Blood Raven. The possessed Rogue saw her approach and brought her bow to bear. The first arrow missed the Slayer's head by scant inches. Faith skidded and dived to the side as the second arrow whistled in, fire trailing from its head. Blood Raven did not even seem to feel the crossbow bolt in her arm as she sent arrow after arrow at the Slayer, not hitting, but not letting Faith approach either. That was when the paladin's charge struck her from the back. Blood Raven's minions immediately surrounded the two, raining blows at the prone paladin. Faith leapt to the attack.  
  
Leoric felt himself thrown to one side as the powerful form beneath him pushed herself to her knees. The landing sent eruptions of pain through him as his bruised and battered body protested at being abused that way. Groaning, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and gaped in awe. The slip of a girl was a whirlwind of destruction amidst the group of undead. Both bracer blades bared, she loped off arms, caved in skulls and removed heads in equal measure. Now and then, a skeleton was launched from the fray by a powerful kick to land, broken, amidst the defiled graves. By the time Blood Raven had gotten back to her feet and regained her bearings, there was only two skeletons left. But by the time the girl had finished off the pair, Blood Raven would have an arrow ready and at that range, she could not miss. His sword was out of reach, having fallen from his grip when he landed on Blood Raven. The paladin did the only thing he could think of. He tore the shield from his left arm and smashed it two-handed into Blood Raven's posterior with all his strength. The move sent Blood Raven crashing to the ground ten feet from where she stood, and, more importantly, it caused her to drop her bow. Seemingly unaffected by the blow, the ex-Rogue got back to her feet.  
  
Faith was on her in a flash, the two beheaded skeletons falling to their final rest as she tackled Blood Raven. It was a battle of claw against claw, both fighters moving faster than the paladin thought was humanly possible. Still, Blood Raven was no match for the Slayer. She screamed when Faith punched her right blade right through her left kidney and out the other side in a spray of gore. Meeting the ex-Rogue's incredulous stare, Faith allowed herself to relax. But it was premature. Blood Raven gripped her by the neck and right arm and pushed her away hard. The move ripped the blade from her abdomen and sent Faith on an arc that ended with her head against a tombstone. Faith saw stars from the impact. The blades retracted back into the bracers. Rolling herself back on to her hands and knees, she shook her head to try and clear her head. Dimly, she became aware of Leoric shouting something. A booted foot caught her in the ribs and sent her against the tombstone again. Desperately, she tried to get up, only to have her intentions cut short by another vicious kick to the ribs. This time, she caught hold of the tombstone and came to rest half-leaning on it. She caught the flash of movement at the corner of her eye and heaved herself over the stone. There was a crunch of bone meeting hard unyielding stone and a scream of pain.  
  
The Slayer glanced over the rim of the tombstone to see Blood Raven sitting on the ground with her back towards the tombstone, nursing a badly mangled foot. The pain of the latest wound was too much even for her demon possessed mind. Faith slid quietly around the stone. Grasping the helmeted head, Faith gave it a sharp twist before the ex-Rogue could react. The paladin could hear the muted sound of her neck snapping.  
  
The effect of Blood Raven's death was immediate and spectacular. The body erupted into a blinding white light, causing Faith to drop it and back away. Bolts of lightning streaked from the body, crashing into tombstones, trees and humans alike. But unlike real lightning, these ones were harmless. As the light show faded, a white mist flowed from the body's mouth and nostrils. The mist formed a brief image of a woman before fading away. Faith could have sworn her saw a look of relief and a smile of thanks on the face.  
  
"She is at peace at last," Leoric said. Faith noticed that he was limping and holding his right side. "Are you well?"  
  
"Five by-" Faith winced. With the adrenalin receding, the kicks to her ribs were being to make themselves felt. The trauma pads on the flak vest may have spread the force to several times their original area of impact, but it did not stop it completely. "Well, maybe not." The paladin waited while she went to retrieve her crossbow, her ribs throbbing with every step. "I am so not looking forward to sneaking all the way back to camp."  
  
Leoric pulled a folded piece of paper out of his belt pouch when a weary grin. "There is no need. I came prepared." He recited a few words from the paper, crushed it into a ball and tossed it into the ground. The instant it hit the ground, it burst into flames and a glowing oval of blue light appeared. "After you, my la- Faith."  
  
Too tired and too sore to argue, Faith entered the light. A wave of nausea washed over her. She barely registered that she was back in the Rogue camp when she staggered out of the light, her knees buckling. Strong hands caught her as she fell and gently lowered her to the ground. She remained there for a moment, clutching her stomach and trying not to heave. When she looked up again, there was a ring of concerned faces looking down at her. "Next time," she told Leoric through gritted teeth, "I'll walk." 


	4. Chapter 1:3

Daughter of Night - Nope. No Barbarians, at least not the one you can play in the game. I didn't plan on putting one in and I really don't think I should at this stage of the game.  
  
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"How are you feeling today, Faith?" Akara asked. It had been two days since Blood Raven was killed. Faith had refused Akara's help, insisting that she'll be fine after some rest. The healer had gotten her first look at Slayer healing when Faith woke up. Still, she kept asking Faith that question, unable to comprehend how the badly beaten up Slayer could be so healthy the next day.  
  
"I told you," Faith replied, feeling a little put out by the constant question. "Five by five."  
  
"What does 'five by five' mean?" Leoric asked. He had spent the last two days recovering from his wounds, which included a few cracked ribs, under Akara's care. He had been lucky that Blood Raven had not had the time to arm her minions with something more substantial than a few pieces of wood and rocks from the cemetery. Faith just gave him a mysterious smile.  
  
"My scouts have reported a general decrease in demonic activity since you defeated Blood Raven," Kashya said. "But we are still not strong enough to challenge Andariel directly in her stronghold."  
  
Akara raised her hand to stop Faith's outburst before it could begin. "Destroying Andariel is only a step towards your ultimate goal in stopping Diablo. There is one person in this world that knows Diablo far better than any other. He is a man of learning and holds great knowledge on what you seek. His name is Deckard Cain and he is the last of the Horadrim, the ancient order of mages that bound Diablo and his brothers into the soulstones. You must enlist his aid if you are to be successful in your quest to destroy Diablo."  
  
"Where can I find him?" Faith asked. When the three started avoiding her gaze, a sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach. "Let me guess. Tristram." Akara gave a quick nod. "You are really not going to make this easy, are you?" Faith asked the sky.  
  
"There is a chance that Deckard Cain may still be alive," Akara offered. "Diablo would not be pleased at his long imprisonment and a swift death is mercy for the likes of him."  
  
Faith sighed. "Where is Tristram from here?"  
  
"I'm afraid it is not that easy," Akara replied. "Tristram is too far from here to journey by foot. By the time you reach it, it would be too late to rescue Deckard Cain. There is another way. Out in the area of the valley called the Stony Field, there is a cairn of stones. If touched in the correct order, it will open a portal directly to Tristram. The order is written in the bark of the sacred Tree of Inifuss. The tree is near our Citadel, in the Dark Woods. Find it and return to me with the bark and I will be able to translate the runes for you."  
  
"You will need a guide," Kashya said. "Wait here." She returned a few minutes later with a Rogue in tow. "Liene here has volunteered to be your guide. Godspeed, Faith."  
  
"We meet again, traveller," Liene said, her eyes sparkling in the setting sun. It took Faith a few seconds to recognise her as the Rogue that she had saved on her first night in Sanctuary. "We should see Charsi before we leave."  
  
Charsi was the camp's blacksmith and in charge of what was left of the Rogue's armoury. With Kashya's permission, she allowed them full reign in the little room crammed full of weapons and armour. The Slayer rummaged in there for a while, but found nothing to her liking. "I don't suppose you have a couple of small crossbows that I can use with one hand, do you?" she asked.  
  
"No," Charsi replied, puzzled. "Why would you want to have that?"  
  
"Oh, they come in handy." At that moment, Leoric turned up in his platemail. "I hope you are not coming with us, Tin Can."  
  
The paladin looked puzzled. "Of course I am. I am here to end this threat to the Western Kingdoms, not to sit around the fire-"  
  
"Off," the Slayer interrupted him, pointing at his mail. The paladin stared at her for a moment before wandering back to his tent, muttering under his breath about little girls and battle and a paladin's honour.  
  
Charsi watched the by-play with amusement in her eyes. "You really shouldn't do that to him, you know? He is a nice man and a paladin takes his weapons and armour very seriously," she said.  
  
"I'd rather be alive at the end of this," Faith replied. *A part of me, anyway.* "But," she continued, trying to change the subject, "how do you know if he is nice or not?"  
  
"We've talked." Faith was surprised at the faint blush on the smith's face. Charsi caught her stare and turned even redder when Faith gave her a sly grin.  
  
"I'm ready," Liene announced, emerging from the little armoury, testing the pull on her new bow. She seemed surprised when Charsi ushered them quickly out of her smithy.  
  
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It was raining when the glowing blue portal opened before the camp's central firepit. Faith stumbled out of the glowing oval of light and fell to her hands and knees. The other two emerged behind her. "Remind me to kick your ass when my stomach stops trying to convince me to die," she told Leoric.  
  
"What happened?" Kashya asked.  
  
"Our friend is a resister," Leoric replied, grinning. "She does not portal well."  
  
"It will be better this time, he said," Faith muttered. "Everyone throws up on their first portal, he said."  
  
"There was the problem of a few hundred demons chasing us," Liene reminded her.  
  
Faith carefully lowered herself to a seating position. "There was only thirty and they were little guys. Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick." She put her head between her knees. Her wet hair trailed down to form a curtain around her face.  
  
"Do you have the bark?" Akara asked. Leoric handed her the artefact as Liene sat down beside Faith. Kashya started questioning her soldier about the demonic activity and all the types of undead and demons they had seen on their mission. Liene answered each question quickly and concisely, never taking her eyes off the silent Slayer.  
  
"Ah, yes." Akara's voice caused everyone to focus their attention on her, even Faith. "Here. Touch the stones in the order I have written and the portal would appear, taking you to Tristram." Faith visibly turned green at the mention of a portal. "Time is of the essence," she continued, giving the bark back to Leoric. "If the demons holding Deckard Cain did not know of our intentions to rescue him, they would shortly. There is only one purpose that we would seek the bark of the Tree. As the last of the Horadrim, his wisdom on the side of Light could very well tip the war in our favour."  
  
"Come on, Faith." Leoric clapped the Slayer on the shoulder. "We will take the waypoint. It would be faster than sneaking." He said the last with distaste. The paladin preferred a straight battle instead of all this skulking around. While he acknowledged the necessity of it, that did not mean he had to like it.  
  
"What the hell is a waypoint?" Faith asked as she followed him.  
  
"That," Liene replied, pointing to a small raised platform, made out of some sort of sandstone. Carved into its face is an intricate glyph.  
  
"Remember that similar stone we saw in the Stony Field on our way to the Woods?" Leoric asked, stepping aside to let Faith get a closer look at the stone. At her nod, he said, "Picture it in your mind."  
  
"Okay," Faith said uncertainly. "Now, what-" The paladin gave her a little push that caused her to stumble on to the stone. In a blink, she was somewhere else. This time, there was no nausea to accompany the teleport. "Whoa!" She stepped off the platform.  
  
"Are you alright?" Liene asked when she appeared a second later.  
  
"Five by five. Not even the queasies this time. But I am still gonna kill Tin Can for that."  
  
"Are we ready?" Leoric asked when he arrived. He had the time to see Liene staring at something behind his back before a tanned arm slipped around his throat and tightened.  
  
"Next time," Faith whispered in his ear. "You should warn a girl before pushing her into something. She might get the wrong idea." She released him and walked off towards the six pillars of rock in the distance.  
  
Leoric massaged his throat. "Ooh! She bites," he commented to Liene, who watched the entire thing with a barely suppressed smile on her face.  
  
"Yes, she does." Faith gave him a saucy grin over her shoulder and continued walking, this time with her trademark swagger in place. The pair by the waypoint stared at one another, wide-eyed, before dashing off to catch up with the Slayer.  
  
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"Well, that was fun," Faith remarked, as the glowing, floating sparks faded.  
  
"You could have gotten killed!" Faith was surprised at Liene's tone and the uncharacteristic fury on her face. The Rogue was a cheerful girl, quick to laugh. "By the Eye, you could have just waited for me to put an arrow through him!" The girl stalked over to the pile of slain demons at the centre of the circle of stones.  
  
They had discovered a small band of the demons at the cairn, seeking shelter from the rain. Faith had charged them immediately, despite both Liene's and Leoric's cries of warning. Her first slash at the lead demon unleashed a glowing circle of the floating sparks. Shrieking in fear, the demons had scattered. Faith stopped to look at the sparks. When the sparks neared her, they had each emitted a small bolt of lightning that, together, had knocked her on her butt. Seeing this, the demons stopped their retreat and started to close in on her. Shaking her head, she had gotten up to continue the fight, only to have Liene's deadly arrows cut down more than half of the demons before she got within range to employ her blades. None of the other demons had emitted the cloud of sparks, only the one she had hit. She had dived at them, cutting down the remainder before they could run. The result was a spray of the sparks that caused Leoric and Liene to back away to avoid getting hit. Faith, of course, had taken it full on.  
  
"She is right," Leoric told her more gently. "We asked you to wait. We saw it for what it was. That demon was an emitter. They are best slain from a distance. Those bolts you took would have killed an ordinary mortal. You have your resister ability to thank for your survival."  
  
By this time, Liene had activated the portal. "Well?" she demanded, gesturing at the red portal. "Are going to save Cain or are we going to give her another opportunity to show off?"  
  
Annoyed by the lectures, but acknowledging to herself that they were right, Faith followed Leoric through the portal. It deposited them at the edge of the village, on top of a little rise. This teleport, interestingly enough, did not nauseate Faith either. Filing that little bit of information at the back of her mind, the Slayer took her first look at the village whose secrets now threaten two planes of existence.  
  
Tristram was a small village, comprising of less than ten buildings, a graveyard and an old cathedral. It seemed to be primarily geared for visiting pilgrims to the cathedral, with hardly a single farm but all the necessary buildings for travellers: an inn, a blacksmith, a healer and others. Of course, it did not matter now. All the buildings were destroyed, three completely levelled and the rest in various stages of destruction. Most of them were still burning. From their vantage point, they could see a cage barely big enough for an adult to sit in, even when hunched over. They could only assume that Cain was in it. Fortunately, the cage was by the second building nearest to the red portal. Unfortunately, it was hanging about one and a half meters off the ground. Several groups of undead and demons wandered the village. Why they are even there is unknown, for none approached the gibbet.  
  
A group of the small demons, the same type as the ones they had fought by the cairn, were the first to spot them as they crept past the first building. Gibbering in some strange tongue, they charged the little group until Liene put an arrow in the lead demon. As one, they seem to remember that they had a prior appointment elsewhere. But the damage was done. Several groups of undead and a group of large goat-headed demons converged on them.  
  
"Hold them back. I'll get the old man." Faith was off before they could protest.  
  
"Damn it!" Liene swore as she sent arrow after arrow into the goat demons. The paladin did not reply as he started chanting in an arcane language. A glowing ball of light appeared in his hands and he tossed the conjured ball at a skeleton. When the ball touched the undead creature, it fell apart.  
  
At this distance, Faith could see that there was a living man within the cage. There was no time for finesse. She just cut the rope holding the cage up and let it shatter on the ground. Ignoring the groaning man within, she turned to the nearest group of undead. "Better get your ass moving, old man. We don't have a lot of time. Tin Can! Time to go!"  
  
But the paladin was otherwise engaged. Interposing himself between the Rogue and the nearest band of undead, he had his hands full. Then, a huge figure appeared from around the building. It was a well built man with fire in his eyes.   
  
"Griswold," Cain muttered as he got to his feet. Liene buried four arrows in Griswold's chest but the creature just kept on coming. Deckard Cain muttered a few words and another of the blue portals opened. "Go!" he shouted at Liene. The Rogue understood at once and dashed for the portal. Leoric was next, grabbing Faith as he went. Cain stepped through just as the two launched themselves at the portal.  
  
The four found themselves staring at a pair of booted feet and another one shod in sandals. Three of them looked up into the faces of Kashya and Akara. Faith was too busy bringing up her dinner. 


	5. Chapter 1:4

Sorry for the long delay, everyone, but I am running into time problems. As I said, this fic is nearly at the bottom of the "to-do" pile of mine. In the last few weeks, I have written a 30 page original fiction (over 17k words), am working on two others and about start a third. This is all in addition to me running around like a headless chicken trying to get a job and deal with Christmas time (and I am not even Christian.....!). I hate to say it, but it is VERY likely that the next chapter would take a longer time to do than this one. Especially once I actually get a job.  
  
Thank you, all, for the kind reviews. I do try to make it as "believable" as possible, granted that it is Buffy and Diablo we are talking about, as Daughter of Night so aptly pointed out :)  
  
Other than that, it is 0126DEC252003 here. That is translated to 1:26 AM, 25th December 2003, in the shorthand that I use. So.....  
  
Merry Christmas to the Christians  
  
Happy Hanukah to the Jews  
  
Happy Birthday, Mithra  
  
Merry Yuletide to the Wiccans (yes, I know it is 12 days)  
  
And to all, I wish thee the most solemn of blessings on this spiritual day of honour, thankfulness, joy and meaning.  
  
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It was well past noon when the Slayer woke up. She lazed for a while, listening to the busy sounds of the camp. Eventually, her rumbling stomach forced her to leave her tent.  
  
"Ah, the hero awakens!" Warriv's booming voice stilled the conversation around the central fireplace. Leoric and Cain turned to give her a welcoming smile, but Liene concentrated on the animal roasting over the fire, not looking up. Kashya and Akara turned up soon after.  
  
"It is certain we face the demon queen Andariel, who has corrupted the Rogue Sisterhood and defiled their ancestral monastery. This does not bode well for us, my friends," Cain said after Liene had served the newcomers. "Ancient Horadric texts record that Andariel and the other lesser evils once overthrew the three Prime Evils, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, banishing them from Hell to our world," Cain continued, drawing Faith away from her thoughts on the Rogue's uncharacteristic behaviour. "Here, they caused mankind untold anguish and suffering before they were finally bound within the soulstones. Andariel's presence here could mean that the forces of Hell are once again aligned behind Diablo and his brothers. If this is true, then I fear for us all. You must kill her before the Monastery becomes a permanent outpost of Hell and the way east lost forever."  
  
"We will need at least a day to properly prepare," Kashya said, troubled. "The Sisterhood is ready, but we will need that time to gather our scouts and the bands out in the wilderness scattered by Andariel's initial assault. But our main problem is not knowing what our enemies are like. We know the Citadel, but without knowing what demons Andariel has brought with her, we are charging blind."  
  
Faith and Leoric looked at each other. With a sigh, Faith raised a hand.  
  
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"Faith?"  
  
The Slayer turned around to see Liene kneeling just outside her tent. "What?" She instantly regretted her tone when the Rogue flinched. "Come in," she said more gently.  
  
"I- I just wanted to apologise for-"  
  
"Don't." Faith knew that she was being cocky last night and that the lecture and the anger were well deserved, but still, she couldn't bring herself to apologise. Only Buffy could ever wring that out of her. A wave of sadness washed over her as she remembered her fellow Slayer. "No blood, no foul. Just leave it."  
  
The Rogue noted the sadness in her eyes. "No. We cannot just 'leave it'," she blurted, surprising both herself and the Slayer. "Something is wrong, Faith. You are reckless, insanely so. I talked with Kashya. You wanted to go after Blood Raven, the best war captain that we have ever had. Alone! You wanted to take on a hundred demons all by yourself. Last night, you just dived in there without even looking at who or what you are fighting. It is like you have a death wish. What is wrong with you?" Faith stared at Liene. "It is about the dreams?" Liene asked softly. "About Buffy? What happened, Faith?"  
  
"How do you know about B?" The truth was there in her eyes.  
  
"You call out in your sleep for her, begging forgiveness." Liene ignored Faith's reddening cheeks. "I do not know what you did, but you saved my life." It was the Rogue's turn to blush. "I swore an oath to protect you. It is our way," she said defiantly, catching the look in Faith's eye. "We do not forget those that have helped us."  
  
"Are you crazy? I am the Slayer. It is my job to protect you!" Faith stared at the other girl with incredulous eyes, even as she admitted to herself that that had never been her first priority. Trying to make her understand, Faith tried to describe the Slayer and what it is that a Slayer does. In the end, she found herself quoting Giles, "In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer." She pointed to herself. "That's me."  
  
Liene looked at Faith for a long time. To her credit, she did not react like most people would have reacted. She did not laugh or try to have Faith committed to a loony bin. She just accepted that Faith would not be lying to her. "It does not matter. An oath is an oath. Please, Faith," she said, stopping the Slayer's protests before they could begin, "the Order has stood for untold centuries and its traditions is who we are. Do not make me into an oathbreaker. Please, take care. For me?"  
  
There was something in her eyes that Faith could not identify. "That's crazy. I am a Slayer. We fight against Evil every day. We don't get a chance to say goodbye before we check out. Not usually. A Slayer doesn't retire, Pix." The Rogue gave her the expression that another red-head used so well in getting her way. Faith had always chuckled at the way Buffy and the others had crumbled before it. Now that it is directed at her, she understood the devastating power of that look. "Okay, fine," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I'll be more careful."  
  
The smile that answered her lit up the entire tent.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Okay. This is getting too creepy," Faith whispered, looking around at the foyer of the Rogue's Monastery. It was covered in cobwebs and bloodstains. "Where is everyone?" The sun had set four hours ago but it was as dark inside the building as it was outside. Not a single torch marred the darkness. "I don't like this."  
  
"This is only the lowest level," Liene whispered. "The Citadel extends up to the top of the pass. This is the first line of defence. Behind this is a courtyard, the Outer Cloister. Beyond that is the barracks. It is in the barracks that we find the only passageway up to the Inner Cloister, through the Jails and from there, down to the Catacombs. The Catacombs hold our most honoured dead. Although the bodies are protected by holy wards, they cannot stand against one of Andariel's power for long. She is most likely to be there trying to raise them for they would be the most powerful minions that she could command here."  
  
Silently, the trio crept to the double doors in the opposite wall. They opened on silent hinges. As they cautiously headed for the doors to the barracks, Faith caught sight of something familiar. "Is that a waypoint?" she asked. Liene nodded. "Why didn't we just use that?"  
  
"You need to be able to visualise the waypoint before you can teleport to them," Leoric replied. "Liene might be able to, but not us."  
  
Their trip though the barracks are uneventful. It was as if the place was deserted, although there were many signs of a battle being fought here. It was near the passageway to the Jails that they first found any signs of habitation. The ring of metal on metal caused Faith to jump. "What is that?" Faith asked  
  
"What was what?" the other two replied, confused.  
  
The Slayer started towards the sound.  
  
"Faith!" Liene whispered furiously. "The passageway is that way."  
  
"There is something here," Faith replied and cautiously opened a door. With the door open, the ringing sound was much clearer. The passageway beyond the door extended left and right. The sound came from the right passageway.  
  
"That leads to Charsi's workshop before we were driven from the Monastery."  
  
"Someone one is making weapons," Leoric rumbled. "That cannot be good."  
  
Faith was about to close the door when Liene stopped her. "Charsi had a magical malus that could create weapons and armour of incredible power," she said. "I haven't seen her use it since we fled the Monastery. If a minion of Hell is using it, it could tip the coming fight in their favour."  
  
"Does it matter?" Faith asked.  
  
"Even one less could mean that less of my Sisters die."  
  
With a sigh, Faith slipped around the partially opened door and headed for the sound. "You know that we are only supposed to play scout, right?" she asked.  
  
"Shh!" the other two whispered back.  
  
The workshop, as Liene called it, was actually a full fledged smithy. Burning coals lit up the large room and a huge, bloated figure hunched over an anvil, hammering a sword blade into shape. An exquisite hammer lay, carelessly thrown, on a table near it. It glowed with a soft golden light of its own. A few demons milled around the room, waiting for weapons. Half of them were already armed with small axes and swords. Two of the demons, taller than the others and holding banners of some sort, stood in a corner.  
  
"Shamans," Leoric whispered. "We will have to take them out first. They can bring the others back to life if we let them. If only we could do the same."  
  
"Pix, they are yours." Faith was about to dash forward when she remembered something. "Any of those funny sparkies out there, Tin Can?" She felt a small hand on her left shoulder as the paladin shook his head. "Okay, then," she whispered, reaching up and over to give the hand a quick squeeze. "Let's party."  
  
The room erupted into shouts and squeals when the two rushed in, drowning the sound of Faith's blades springing into place. A blurred shape flashed between the pair and one of the shamans sprouted feathers at his throat, cutting off his shouts in mid-sentence. The second shaman followed a split second later. The smaller demons turned to look at the forms of their leaders, still and upright, pinned to the wall by the arrows in their throats. They did not even have time to turn back before Faith and Leoric exploded in their midst like a bomb. Liene wisely shifted fire to the demonic smith.  
  
Squealing and screaming in fear, the smaller demons scattered and ran. But there was nowhere to run. There was only one way into the room and any that tried to approach it invariably caught an arrow in a painful, and not to mention fatal, spot.  
  
Turning from the last of the little group of demons before her, Faith felt huge hands grab her by the arm and neck. "Oh, shit," was all she managed before being tossed through a wooden frame of some sort and into the far wall. Luckily for her, the wooden frame robbed her of most of her velocity and the padding in her armour was enough prevent her from sustaining anything more than a couple of bruised ribs. She rolled to her feet just in time to see the smith's backhand stop Leoric's charge cold and smash him aside.   
  
The demonic being's chest was already bristling with arrows from Liene but it just ignored them and picked up the hammer on the table. Liene's next shot surely caught its attention. It gave a yelp of pain when she drilled an arrow into his backside. Outraged at the attack, it stalked towards the Rogue, hammer swinging wildly.   
  
Faith slid in between the two and blocked the overhanded blow with her crossed blades. The force caused her to slide back a foot or so. Surprisingly, her blades held under the blow. The two strained against one another for what seemed like hours to Faith. Even her Slayer strength was not enough to keep the hammer from inching its way inexorably towards her face. Then, the smith gave a soft huff of surprise. The pressure suddenly relaxed. Off-balanced without the force on her arms, Faith went sprawling to the ground. She just managed to avoid hitting the demon's knee on the way down.  
  
The demon growled, turned and backhanded Leoric over a table. The small axe that he had hit the smith with fell from his hand as he went flying. As it turned back to the Slayer at its feet, an arrow caught it in the right eye. Immediately, it dropped the hammer and covered the injured eye with both hands. Its roar of pain was deafening.  
  
The Slayer got to her hands and knees and swept her right foot through the demon's legs. The force of her circle kick pitched the demon forward. "Ouch," she commented a moment later, looking down at the dead smith. "That has got to hurt." The fall had driven the arrow through the demon's eye and into its brain. The arrow must have splintered on impact with the back of the skull, ricocheting shards of wood and metal within the cranial cavity. Only half an inch of arrow shaft and a few bloodied feathers of the fletching are still visible.  
  
"Here." Leoric handed the hammer to Liene. "Let us be gone before his allies find out what we have done."  
  
"You okay, Tin Can? That was some hit you took."  
  
"It was nothing. I jumped back when I saw my blow having no effect on the beast. My armour absorbed the rest of the blow."  
  
"What about you?" Liene asked the Slayer. "It threw you through that spear rack."  
  
Faith shrugged. "Five by five." Catching the Rogue's look, she hastily added, "Just a couple of bruised ribs, Pix. Nothing serious, okay?"  
  
Liene was about to reply when Leoric clapped them both on the shoulder and gave them a small push. "We can discuss this after we have completed our mission. Onward!" he proclaimed with a grin.  
  
"Shh!" the other two instantly replied.  
  
Liene took one look at Leoric's amused expression and Faith's relieved one and threw up her hands. Muttering something about stupid males and Slayers with death wishes, she stalked down the corridor back towards the stairway to the Jails. 


	6. Chapter 1:5

Okay. An update. Finally.

What can I say? A job just takes up way too much time. Something had to give and this story was it. No, it is not consigned to the bin. Just very, very slow updates.

-

Faith and Leoric stared wide-eyed at the scene before them. "By the Light," Leoric whispered in shock. They were in what must have been the Rogue Jailer's dining area. A circle of guttering torches surrounded a long table. Spread-eagled on the table was the naked body of a woman. She had been gutted and slabs of flesh were missing from her limbs and body. From the expression on her face, the actions had been done while she was still very much alive. The stench of stale urine and offal assaulted their noses. The air was chill enough that the body had not started to decompose yet.

The sound of retching brought their attention back to their companion. Faith as the first to reach Liene, who was crouching outside the room. "Maeko," the Rogue finally whispered, naming a scout that had gone missing two nights ago.

Faith fought her own nausea as she wrapped an arm around Liene. She had done many Evil things in her time. She had killed and tortured but even she had not done or seen anything like this. "It's okay," she whispered. "When we find Andariel, we'll take it out of her hide."

"We have to go," Leoric interrupted them. He handed Liene a canteen to wash the acrid taste from her mouth and showed the pair his right index finger. The tip was coated with blood. "The bloodstains are still wet. The demons must have been interrupted in their… meal." Both the women turned slightly greener at that statement. "Something is very wrong here. We must figure out where the demons are and what they are doing and report back to Kashya. I sense that this night could be calamitous for us all if the correct actions are not performed in time."

"Translation, Tin Can?" Faith asked, shooting him a look as she helped Liene to her feet.

"We have a job to do. And we have to finish it fast or I think we are headed for disaster."

"Why didn't you just say so?"

"I did."

"No, you didn't."

"If you two are quite done trying to distract me," Liene said quietly, "there is a secret armoury on this floor of the Jails where we keep our best weapons in times of trouble." Her face still had a slight greenish tinge to it, be she looked a lot better than she did a minute ago.

"I think this qualifies," Leoric replied, equally quietly. He glanced back at the room they had just passed and shook his head. "I think this qualifies, indeed."

Faith gave her a squeeze and let her arm drop from around Liene's shoulders. The Rogue grabbed her hand but just shook her head at Faith's inquiring look. Faith understood. There were times, dark times, when she had wished that there was someone to hold her hand too. "Let's go find it, Pix."

Liene led them to a dead end, a few feet down the corridor where the stairs up to the Inner Cloister was. She felt the wall there until she found the correct brick and pressed it. A portion of the wall slid back with the slight grating sound of stone on stone. The small room on the other side of the doorway contained a few chests and weapons racks. A glance into the chests revealed that they contain armour of some sort.

"Uh, Tin Can?" Faith asked. "Give us a minute?" She glanced significantly at Liene, who had casually started to take off her armour. The paladin turned red and hastily exited the room. "Umm, Pix," she said, turning her attention back to the Rogue. Liene turned at her call, giving her an eyeful before Faith could turn away. "You might want to do that when there are less people around."

"What?" Liene asked puzzled. "Oh. Oh my. I forgot. I- We do not mind about this. I was distracted and I forgot. I am sorry. I did not mean to-"

"It's okay, Pix. I don't mind, not really. I was just afraid you might." Faith turned to look the Rogue in the eye. Letting her eyes drift, Faith grinned. "But I think you just gave Tin Can a heart attack."

That managed to coax a small smile from Liene. But the humour died quickly enough. Breaking the awkward silence, she turned to put on the set of armour she had chosen from a chest. Faith browsed along the weapon racks, appropriating a brace of throwing knives that she strapped to the small of her back. "Done," Liene finally announced. She apologised to Leoric when Faith finally managed to drag the paladin back into the room. In the end, the paladin had to interrupt her babbling apology and tell her it was alright.

Five minutes later, hefting the new longsword that he had taken from the armoury, Leoric led the way into the Inner Cloister.

-

It was as quiet in the Inner Cloister as it was in the Outer Cloister and the Jails.

"Okay. I am so burying the needle vibes-wise," she muttered.

"Why would you want to bury a needle?" Liene asked, puzzled. "But there is a patch of dirt in the courtyard near the waypoint."

"It's just an expression we have back home. It means that something is off the scale."

"Off the scale?" This time it was Leoric that asked the question.

"Nevermind," Faith said hastily. "Where are the Catacombs?"

"Under the Cathedral." Liene pointed to a big building to the north. Leoric immediately went ahead to investigate, while the two women approached at a more cautious pace.

"You know, I was wondering. If the Monastery is the only way over the mountains, how do you get a caravan through the Jails and up here?"

"We used an alternative route to get up here," Liene replied. "Usually, the caravans have to travel through the main gates to the Outer Cloister and then through a series of gates up the pass to here. I did not think that that would be a wise course to take."

"Good thinking."

"There is someone in there," Leoric reported when they arrived at the Cathedral doors. "I saw moving lights and-"

Faith held up a hand, listening intently.

"Is all in readiness?" a voice said clearly over the tumult. It was a feminine voice, but rough and seemed to echo itself.

Instantly, the noise ceased. "Yes, milady," another replied, this one male. It had an unusual clicking effect to it.

"Good. The thorn in our side will be crushed tonight. Go. Destroy the camp and bring me the bodies of their leaders. No one is to be left free."

The trio looked at each other and dashed for the storage room that doubled as the entrance to the Jails. Seconds after they had eased the door shut, they could hear the sounds of the creatures marching through the Inner Cloister to the gate leading down the mountain.

"We must warn the Rogues," Leoric whispered.

Faith, listening intently to the passing army, shook her head. "No use. There's got to be thousands of them out there. Where the heck did she get that many minions?"

"Andariel must have broken the wards," Liene said stricken. "She must have reanimated the dead. The camp cannot survive such numbers."

"We're screwed," Faith whispered.

They were silent as the noises outside finally subsided. Then, Leoric got up. "We have a chance," he said. "It will not be easy, but we have a chance." The other two looked at him in askance. "The living dead need both the spark of magic to animate them and the will of a creature to command them," he explained. "Without both, the living dead cannot exist. That army marching for the camp is mainly of the undead. We cannot unbind the magic, but we can sever the will."

"What are you talking about, Tin Can?"

"He is saying we have to kill the person controlling the zombies to stop them before they can get to the camp," Liene said. Faith merely raised an eyebrow. "Andariel," Liene explained. "We have to kill Andariel."

-

The journey through the Catacombs was a lot easier than Faith had expected. All of Andariel's minions must have been sent to assault the camp. With Liene's guidance, the trio rapidly explored the Catacombs. When they finally found Andariel's throne room, they were at the lowest level of the Catacombs.

They peered through the archway. A great throne was situated near the opposite end of the grand tomb. A creature that must be Andariel was seated in it. Behind her, a great curtain of flames covered the far wall. The flames puzzled Faith. Cain had mentioned that Andariel was not too fond of fire, being quite vulnerable to it. It seemed to be the height of hubris to have so much of the very thing that can so hurt you in such close proximity.

Tearing herself away from the puzzle, she focused on the creatures between them and the demoness. More of the small gibbering demons wandered the hall. Occasionally, one would push another into the flames and shriek with what must be laughter at antics of the burning one as it tried to beat the flames out. Two of their shamans were huddled next to Andariel, conferring with the demoness. Their flags stirred in the breeze generated by the rising hot air.

"Okay, Pix. Those two flag boys will have to go. Tin Can, you take the left. I'll take the right," Faith whispered. "Ready?"

At their nods, she threw open the door with a crash and charged in. The two shamans were dead before she was even half way across the room. Their quick deaths demoralised the smaller demons and they stampeded for the only way out of the tomb. In their panic, none of them realised that that was also the only spot where the arrows could have come from. Leoric and Faith met them half way. The fight was short but it was only a prelude to the one that was to follow.

Andariel seemed stunned at the appearance of the trio in this, the centre of her growing empire. But as the last of her minions fell, she gave a shriek. It was more than a scream of anger. A wave of fetid air washed over the three. They wavered and broke out in a cold sweat. Liene gave a faint moan and crumpled to the floor, convulsing in the grasp of a terrible chill. Faith could feel herself heating up as her Slayer metabolism went into overdrive to try and overcome the poison. Then, the paladin by her side straightened up and fixed a fevered gaze at the approaching demoness. With a shout, he stabbed a hand into the air and Faith suddenly felt much better.

Faith was no stranger to magic. Her calling as a Slayer had brought her into its realm more than once, but here was something that she did not understand. She could feel the forces raging around her in a game of strike and counter-strike. The flow and ebb of the poison was only the physical manifestation of that war. With a cry, she launched herself at the demoness, both blades aflame.

Andariel recoiled from the hurtling Slayer. Used to overpowering her victims with her poison, she was totally unprepared for someone that was not laid low by it. In her millennia of existence, she had never known a person that could withstand it enough to fight back. That was perhaps Faith's greatest advantage as she fought with the demoness. Sanctuary had never had a Slayer before and its villains did not know what to make of one.

Up close, away from the glare of the flames, Faith finally had a good look at Andariel. The demoness was tall, over ten feet in height and beautiful in an icy cold way. Faith ducked a claw and turned that motion into a circle kick. Her foot slammed into one shapely thigh and bounced off. Off-balanced, Faith was knocked off her feet by the force of her own kick. A swipe cut through where her head was a split second ago. The Slayer rolled away from the huge demoness, giving herself some breathing room. Andariel stalked after her, ignoring the writhing form of Liene and the still form of Leoric. The paladin was concentrating hard on something, although what it was is beyond Faith.

Andariel bent down to Faith's level and roared once more, but there was no effect this time. In response Faith stabbed a flaming blade at her face. The demoness quickly drew back, but was not fast enough. A trickle of dark blood flowed down the front of her body.

_Oh, thank you, God!_ Faith thought sourly as Andariel looked incredulously down at the wound on her breast. Of all the places to hit, she had stabbed the demoness in the most thickly padded part of her nude torso. Anywhere else and the blow would have been significant. As it was, it merely made Andariel mad. The demoness charged her little tormentor, both clawed hands flashing.

Faith dived between the demoness' legs. One of them clipped her on the left shoulder, numbing the entire limb. Blindly, she lashed out and felt her blade strike flesh. Trying to wring some feeling back into her arm, she quickly got up to face her opponent. Andariel was faster. Even as Faith spun, she took a step forward, intent on finishing the battle before the Slayer could recover.

Then, she stopped. There was puzzlement on her face as she peered down at her inner thigh and the stream of blood that ran down it. The flow of the blood pulsed in rhythm with her heartbeat. The puzzlement turned to terror as she realised its significance. Both hands clamped over the wound, trying desperately to staunch the flow of blood.

Faith watched as the demoness weakened from the bloodloss, slowly going to one knee as she tried in vain to stop the flow. The sudden end to the action marked the sudden return of the weakness that reminded her of the poison that was still in her system, reinforced by the second dose. Over the crackling of the flames, she heard a soft murmur. It took her a moment to realise that it was in the inhuman voice of Andariel and a moment longer to realise that the demoness was trying to cast a spell. With a wild cry, she sprung at Andariel but her weakened leapt was uncoordinated. Instead of landing in front of the demoness, she ploughed right into her. Both clawed hands came up in an instinctive reaction to the shove. One of the flailing hands backhanded Faith as she rebounded from Andariel. Faith did not feel the ground rushing up to meet her.

A loud, piercing shrieking greeted her ears as she struggled up from the darkness. She was face down on the hard, grimy floor. Blearily, she looked around, wondering how she got there. When her gaze settled on Liene's still form, memory flooded back. She tied to push herself off the ground and nearly fell flat on her face as her weakened arms refused to obey her. Instead, she had to be satisfied with a sort of a rolling crawl that allowed her to sit upright and take stock of her surroundings.

A pair of legs kicked in rhythm to the screams near her. Blood sprayed from the force of the kicks. She could not see the rest of the body through the flames, but it did not take a genius to figure out that her leap had the unintended side-effect of knocking Andariel into the fires that surrounded her throne. Dumbly, Faith stared at the flames. A part of her insisted that she should help the demoness as no one deserved that kind of death. Another part brought up the tormented souls imprisoned in their bodies as undead brought back by the demoness. Her exhausted body gave the final vote. There was no way she was getting off that floor without help.

She looked away as the legs slowed in their final dance. Whether the demoness died from the fire or from bloodloss would never be certain. An average human has thirty seconds to live with a severed femoral artery. With a demon, anything is possible, including survival. In fact, Faith was not certain if she did sever the artery, but the demoness' actions seemed to suggest so. Regardless, Andariel was dead and her undead legions with her.

Faith started shaking, as much from the adrenaline as from the poison that was still raging through her body. Bending forward, she clutched at herself as the shivering seemed to threaten to tear her apart. Then, with a final surge, the invisible battle was over. Leoric relaxed from his pose as the poison's effects diminished. His steps were unsteady as he went over to the nearer of his companions. Liene felt a touch, and then strength flowed into her, banishing the last lingering effects of the poison. With a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes and accepted the hand Leoric held out to her. Together they turned to the Slayer. Liene gave a cry and darted over to where Faith was lying on her side. Beneath her tan, the Slayer was deathly pale. Her breathing was rapid and shallow. When the Rogue touched her, she seemed to be freezingly cold.

Liene looked up at the approaching paladin as she cradled Faith's head in her lap. "Do something," she pleaded in a hoarse whisper.

Leoric nodded as he knelt down to put a hand to Faith's brow. The hand glowed briefly. "That is the best I can do," he said, shaking his head wearily. "I need time to recover my strength." The brief healing had eased the Slayer's breathing a little, but Liene was not sure if it had really helped. Faith's body was still deathly cold to the touch. Suddenly, Leoric shot to his feet. "The waypoint," he said, lifting Faith's limp body from her arms. "Come on."

The paladin staggered under his burden and Liene quickly ducked under Faith's arm. The pair half-carried, half-dragged the Slayer up two flights of stairs to the catacomb's waypoint. With a brief prayer and the hope that the Rogue camp would still be standing, they stepped through.


	7. Chapter 1:6

Darklight – (cue Harrison Ford voiceover) It's not my fault!

I blame my job. Either I get to write or I get to sleep (and I only get 6 hours sleep as it is). Too many other stuff are happening as well. RP, sports, my original fiction series (which still has priority over a lot of other things…. like sleep), etc.

-

Faith stirred and slowly opened her eyes. The first thing that she saw was Akara's concerned face. The worry in the old woman's eyes brought her fully awake and she sat up. Or tried to.

"Do not. You are still weak from the poison," Akara said, putting a hand on the Slayer's arm. Faith allowed herself to be restrained, not that she really had a choice in the matter. "How are you feeling otherwise?"

"Like a fucking rockstar the morning after," Faith muttered. Akara gave her a questioning look. "Nevermind."

It took Faith another day to fully recover from her latest brush with death, which was probably a good thing. Warriv needed that long to ready his caravan for the journey east across the great desert and having an impatient and fully active Slayer around would not have helped matters. Then, the journey hit another snag. Faith took one look at a camel and flatly refused to ride it. She had no problem throwing herself at the ugliest, smelliest and noisiest of demons. But one look at the long-haired, snorting, smelly animal and she dug her heels in. It did not help when one of the foul-tempered beasts spat at his handler and hit him with unnerving accuracy right between the eyes. Finally, Warriv allowed her to ride in a wagon, although he did warn her that that might not be as much of a reprieve as she thought it would be.

The Slayer was in for a surprise as the caravan rumbled its way out of the Rogue camp on its way to the Monastery and the desert beyond. Both Liene and Leoric greeted her astride a pair of white mares with the ease born of long practice. The Rogue greeted her cheerfully.

"Of course we are going," Leoric boomed with equal cheer, answering her unasked question. "I pledged to rid the world of Evil and what greater Evil is there than the demon which you seek?"

"And I swore an oath to protect you," Liene piped in.

"Besides," Leoric added. "You did not expect us to let you have all the fun, did you?"

Faith looked from one to the other and could not help but laugh.


	8. Chapter 2:1 And So Begins

Okay. The way ff net keeps mucking up my breaks and punctuation is really hacking me off. What is wrong with a line of -'s or 's or 's to mark beginning of fiction and/or change of scene since it doesn't like double blank lines? I used to be able to do it, which was great. And Heaven forbid that I should put up an Internet "link" as part of the story! Grrr! 

Darklight - The army was animated by Andariel's will. That's why the three of them had to run down to the tombs and get rid of Andariel ASAP, remember? Without her, the army just went back to being dead instead of being undead.

No beginning of chapter song verse this time round. I can't find one to suit, which partially explained the time it took for me to post this. When I find one, I'll put it up. Suggestions are also welcomed.

* * *

And So Begins.

* * *

Warriv had not been kidding when he warned her about spending the trip in the wagon. By the end of the first day, her rear was sore from the hours spent on the hard benches. Her right hand had a few splinters in it from grabbing on to the rough wood during one particularly violent lurch. And to top it off, her stomach had decided that it did not like the motion of the wagon or the cloyingly sweet smell of the crates of spices around her too much. So, Faith spent most of the trip huddled miserably in the corner, staring at her sneakers and trying desperately not to redecorate the interior of the wagon.

Things had managed to get a lot worse. The trip took over a week, and it was the desert. It was amazing how many every day modern things that she had taken for granted. Things like a hot shower, air conditioning, and, after over seven days of boredom, a TV and a Playstation. Hell, she would settle for a soft cushion or a good set of suspensions for the wagon. A hard bump underscored her thoughts, nearly dumping her off the rough bench. Her stream of oaths and decidedly deadly promises were cut off when she realised that the ride was suddenly a lot smoother. It was also slowing down.

Intrigued, she glanced out of a small window and was greeted by the stonework of a tall wall. Then, they were past the gate and she could see the dusty streets of an exotic city. The caravan pulled into an empty space just inside the gate and stopped. Glad to have an excuse to get out of the confines of the wagon, Faith was out the door in seconds. Warriv was standing at the front of the caravan, his men around him. They were looking nervously at a large group of armed men approaching them. Faith hurried to join Warriv. Liene and Leoric were already there.

The man in the lead, richly dressed in robes of blue and pieces of jewellery, held up his hands in a gesture of peace as he approached, perhaps sensing their unease. "Greetings, honoured travellers," he began. "I am Jerhyn, Lord of Lut Gholein, and I bid you welcome to my fair port-city. I'm glad to know that once again caravans are free to travel through the Western Pass. For some time now, we have been under siege by an evil power that I cannot identify. Strange... It all began when a Dark Wanderer came this way, looking for the Tomb of Tal Rasha. No one knows exactly where Tal Rasha, Keeper of Baal, is entombed, but it is certain to be far out in the desert. Now, my people whisper tales of the dead rising from their tombs and horrible creatures lurking amongst the moonlit dunes. Even I have witnessed things which I cannot explain. I've ordered the port closed and all trade ships moored until I am sure that my city is safe. If you require lodgings, Atma, the tavern-keeper, might be able to help you. You will find her establishment just down the road near the fountain. Now, I must return to the palace. I apologize, but I can't invite you in. Things are... rather a mess right now."

Faith had nearly fallen asleep on her feet until Jerhyn mentioned 'lodgings'. Leoric must have noticed her perking up as he hastily thanked the nobleman before she could upset him by running off down the street without a word. The Rogue was not far behind.

* * *

"So, what's the plan now, vamp-man?" Faith asked as she dropped into the long bench opposite Deckard Cain and Leoric. An honest to goodness bath and some time to wash and dry her clothes had lifted her spirits considerably.

"Why do you call him that?" Liene asked before Cain could answer.

"It's a RP game we have back home," Faith replied. "All of the vampires were descended from a guy called Cain. Called themselves Cainites. Read about it when I was looking for more info on a vamp."

"Vampires?"

"RP?"

Faith had to spend a minute explaining the basics of a vampire and a role-playing game.

"Your people play a game in which they pretend to be blood-sucking undead monsters?" Leoric asked incredulously. "Is not real life enough?"

"They don't know that. To most people vamps are just stories."

"I still do not get-"

Cain cleared his throat, interrupting them. "If we may get back to the quest? Diablo is too great a threat to be taken lightly." Taking their silence to be assent, he continued, "The Horadric Mages, after binding Baal within Tal Rasha, magically sealed off his Burial Chamber from the mortal realm. Those same Mages also crafted fearsome Horadric Staves and imbued them with the special power to open the Chamber's hidden door. After nearly losing one to the thievery of a rogue sorcerer, they divided all the Horadric Staves into two parts - wooden shaft and metal headpiece - hiding them separately to safeguard them. The Horadrim foresaw our current plight and designed the hiding places to reveal themselves to worthy heroes like you. Collect both parts of a Horadric Staff and unite them. Then, you may enter Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber."

Faith looked around slowly at the three of them, who was staring at her expectantly. "Oh, no. Don't look at me," Faith said. "The PTB don't talk to me. That's deadboy's part."

"The revelation need not be speech. Do you have anything that might tell us the location of the staff and headpiece?" Cain asked.

"I have a map. It's up in the room. But it's a map of the world. It won't tell us much."

"Bring it down," Cain said. "And we will see."

While Faith was upstairs, Atma approached their table. Her gaze was fastened on Leoric. "You have the look of a paladin about you, young traveller. Fara had the same look about her when she first settled in the city. I don't expect this of you, but if you want to help me, I would be grateful. In the sewers below our city, there lurks a horrid creature that hungers for human flesh. The creature has killed many, including my son and my husband."

"I-" Leoric was stunned by the request. In his admittedly short time as a full-fledged paladin, no one has ever asked for his help in defeating Evil. "I would love to, milady. But we are on a quest..."

"I understand, young paladin."

"He'll do it," Faith said from behind her. They had not even realised that she had returned to the common room. "Pix and I will find the stick. You go take care of ugly and stupid."

"Are you sure? Diab-"

"Go, Tin Can."

"In that case, I accept, milady."

"Please be careful," Atma said, relief visible on her face. "That beast has taken enough from us already. The sewer entrance is through the trap door just up the street."

As she retreated, Faith took out the cloth map from her pack and accidentally tipped it too far. Half of the crystal sword tumbled out of the pack before she caught it and shoved it back in.

"What is that?" Cain nearly jumped out of his seat. "Let me see that blade." She handed the fragile looking sword over. "Yes, it is as I thought," he murmured, looking at Faith with renewed respect. "The Staewyrd. The Star of Destiny. Where did you get this?"

"Came with the pack when the Powers That Don't dumped me here. They must have put it there."

"I doubt the Gods themselves could 'put' this blade anywhere. This is the original." His voice trailed off as he looked at her. "This is the legendary blade of creation. Legend has it that it was sundered by the Prime Evils long ago. Even their great power was unable to destroy the blade." He fingered one of the three blank patches on the blade near the crosspiece. "The rune of death." He flipped it over to reveal a similar three blank spots. "And here, on the opposite side, the rune of life. The rune of chaos, the rune of order. The rune of destruction, the rune of healing." He continued to explain the missing pieces of the sword.

Running along the length of the hilt were four rows of four empty sockets. They were supposed to hold perfect gems; four emeralds to represent the fertile Earth, four sapphires for life-bearing Water, four rubies for destructive Fire and four blue diamonds for mutable Air. Where the blade, the crosspiece and the hilt joined there is another flat patch on either side where two halves of a white diamond would fit to represent the all-encompassing Ether. And the four claws of the pommel were supposed to hold a black diamond representing the nothingness of the Void.

He handed the sword back to Faith. "Its reappearance after so many centuries must mean that the situation is far more dire than even I have realised. If you can restore the blade, its powers would be a great blessing for our cause."

"Any idea how to do that, vamp-man?"

"If you find the runes or the gems, it is a simple matter of placing them in the correct spot. Finding the gems is another matter. But there is a strange aura about you, my friend. Things seem to happen when you are around. Paths are revealed." Cain flipped open the map for emphasis and on it are two small crosses and some lettering that Faith was sure was not there before. "The sword came to you. You will restore it, of that I am certain."


	9. Chapter 2:2

Darklight - You mean the little ones that run away when one of them get killed? The archers will have a field day with them. The leader of the host was a skeleton (remember the clicking sound when it was talking?). With that one dead, the little demons are toast.

* * *

It felt good to be back in decent armour. Leoric shrugged and stretched, settling the heavy platemail more evenly across his shoulders. The open archway to the sewers yawned in front of him. Behind him, the blue sea stretched all the way to the horizon. A boat captain, Meshif by name, had told him last night that he could sometimes hear the moaning of the foul creature when he was aboard his boat. It was as good a place as any to start looking for the beast. He put on the circlet Atma had loaned him. The trio of gems in the item flared to life, lighting his way. With a final shrug, he drew his sword and entered the cool darkness.

The sewers of Lut Gholein was much more extensive than he had expected. It seemed to twist and turn for miles, every few steps bringing a new branch in the ever-growing network. Pinpricks of light danced in the sludge and the damp walls, reflections of his light. Fortunately, the incredible stench had faded to more tolerable levels. Leoric ruefully noted that little fact. It is amazing what humans beings can get used to.

It had taken hours, but he finally came to the conclusion that the creature is not in this level of the sewers. That was another thing that he had discovered. Lut Gholein must have been built on the ruins of another city. It is not so rare an occurrence. Most of the older cities of Sanctuary have extensive underground networks, the result of hundreds of years of buildings being built on top of older buildings. It does make his quest that much harder, though. The warren of tunnels made it far more difficult to locate his prey.

So far, he had not encountered anything beyond a few bats. And rats. There must be thousands of the rodents. Fortunately, they are more interested in running away than attacking. What he did find was a staircase leading further down into the sewers. It seemed a rather unusual place for a stairway until he remembered that parts of the sewer tunnels were probably the result of ancient ruins buried under the city.

Cautiously, he proceeded down the stairs, carefully testing the solidity of each step before putting his full weight on it. His caution did not help him against his foot slipping on the slippery stone steps. There was not even enough time for him to react. He crashed down on the steps and started sliding down. His platemail made it worse. The inflexible metal plates acted like a sled, hindering his efforts to slow himself. He did not see fallen stone block, but he certainly felt it. A starburst of pain erupted in his head before the darkness claimed him.

* * *

Despite the warnings, Faith and Liene reached the ruined catacomb unmolested. The Hall of the Dead was an ancient tomb for the mages that used to rule over this part of the world. Over the years, it had been left to the shifting sands of the desert, and now, all that remains is the side entrance to the underground portion of the tomb. Deep within this great underground graveyard is the staff piece of the key to the Tomb of Tal Rasha, where Baal is buried. Cain had said that the ancients called the staff the Staff of Kings and that it was a symbol of rulership for them. With the fall of the Mage Clans, it was interred with the last of their leaders. The staff was likely to be in the lowest part of the tomb where their nobility was buried.

Liene pulled a torch out of her pack and lit it as Faith peered down the steps into the gloomy confines of the tomb. The flickering light turned the rough-hewn sandstone walls into a mosaic of light and shadows. With one hand engaged, the Rogue pulled out her shortsword instead of her bow. Faith led the way into the tomb, her enchanted neckband allowing her to see even with the torchlight eclipsed by her own body.

They had just reached the bottom of the stairway when a sudden dip in the light at her back caused Faith to look back. Liene was crouched at the last step, peering at something in the corner.

"What is it?" the Slayer asked.

"Someone has been here before us," Liene replied, pointing.

Faith took a closer look at the corner and made out a lump of some kind. A closer examination revealed that it was a piece of charcoal. At her puzzled expression, Liene tapped her torch carefully against the corner of a step. The light flared and flickered wildly and a piece of glowing wood broke off. When the glow faded, it left behind a piece of charcoal.

"Damn, Pix. That's impressive."

"Were you not taught these things?" Liene asked. "How do you hunt your prey?"

"I can just tell." Faith shrugged. "Like how there is a bunch of B-grade horror movie escapees trying to sneak up on us."

Liene gasped and straightened. She did not understand the 'B-grade horror movie' bit, but the 'trying to sneak up on us' bit got her attention. The torchlight revealed about half a dozen shambling figures making their slow way towards them.

"The walking dead. Be careful, Faith," she warned as Faith started edging towards them. "They are much stronger than they look."

"So am I," Faith replied. She was itching for a fight. After over a week of enforced boringness, it was either a fight or a long hard ride between the sheets. Somehow, the 'use them and leave them' way do not appeal anymore. That left a good fight. She eyed the zombies critically. They seemed tough but slow. That is good. A soft punching bag is worse that useless.

Blades bared, she leapt at the zombies. Three quick punches carved three neat holes in the first zombie in line. It fell back as Faith moved on to the next one in line. The Slayer ducked an arm and eviscerated its owner. Ropes of intestines fell through the wound, making her gag with the smell. Luckily for her, the momentary distraction did not prove fatal. The zombie tried to follow her lightning fast strike and tripped over its own bowels. She kicked it in the head as she parried the blows of the third one. Rotted bone gave way under her blow. The head exploded in a shower of gore, even as a severed forearm dropped to the dusty floor.

Ducking and weaving under blows from three different undead, she could hear Liene call out. "Go for the head, Faith!"

These zombies seem to be far more intelligent than she would expect from half-rotted corpses with liquefied brains. They alternated their attacks, making it almost impossible for her to do anything but defend. Faith glanced around and took a page out of Buffy's book. She took a couple of rapid steps backwards and then leapt up the wall beside her. As the zombies stumbled towards where she was a split second ago, she took a step halfway up the wall and threw herself behind them. She completed the manoeuvre by pivoting on her left foot and lashed out with her right hand blade, hamstringing two of the three zombies.

The third rapidly found itself at a disadvantage against the Slayer. Until the first zombie that Faith took down, or thought she took down, came back into the fray by jumping on her back and biting into her shoulder. Faith cried out as she felt rotten teeth tear into her flesh. Thrown face down on to the floor, she twisted and bucked to get the moving corpse off her. Ignoring the pain of the teeth still embedded in her shoulder, she rolled powerfully against the wall. The teeth ground sickeningly into bone as she hammered the zombie into the wall. Once, twice she slammed her shoulder backwards into the wall before she felt bone giving way and the jaws relax.

A shadow loomed over her. She looked up, blinking back tears of pain, at the last zombie still on its feet. Instinctively, she rolled aside as its fist descended. Right into the arms of the two zombies she had hamstrung. The pair heaved themselves at her. Desperately, she kicked out, catching one of them and sending it flying backwards. The second landed on her. A fist smashed into her jaw, splitting her lower lip. She punched a blade into its ribs and realised her mistake when it fell on its side, trapping her blade under it. There was not enough leverage for her to twist her hand into position and retract the blade. The zombie caught her other hand. With unnatural strength, it pushed it aside.

Trapped beneath the zombie's clammy, heavy body, a stray wry thought flashed through her mind even as the zombie bent down with jaws wide open. She wondered what would be Leoric's reaction at the sight of her and the zombie in their current position. The prudish paladin would probably turn several shades of red. She slammed her forehead into the zombie's nose, crushing it. A gush of black blood splattered her face. As it recoiled, a sword slammed into the back of its neck. A hand helped push the finally unmoving body off her and Liene's worried face hovered into view.

"By the Eye, Faith. You look terrible." Liene sheathed her sword and stuck the torch upright in the dirt. "No. Stay still," she said, pushing the Slayer back down when she tried to get back up. "Your wounds need to be tended to. The walking dead have been known to carry disease. Where are you hurt?"

The last thing she needed now was to fall sick, and so, Faith relaxed and allowed the Rogue to tend to her wounds. "Just the lips and the shoulder, Pix."

Faith closed her eyes as Liene cleaned her face of the zombie's blood with a cloth. She focused on her Slayer senses, trying to feel if there are any more of the undead in the corridor. When the Rogue dabbed at her lips, she opened her eyes again. The torchlight caused Liene's eyes to shine brightly.

Abruptly, the Rogue turned away to rummage through her pack. "Sit up and turn around. I cannot tend to your shoulder like this," she said, not looking at Faith. The Slayer complied. Liene hissed when she took a look at the shoulder. The zombie's teeth had ripped through the jumpsuit's sleeve and just missed the edges of Faith's protective vest. Faith gritted her teeth as Liene pulled a tooth fragment from her flesh, and then another. "I cannot bandage your shoulder. Your garment is in the way."

Faith tore the Velcro tabs open on the vests and shrugged them off before pulling down the front mounted zipper of the jumpsuit. Carefully, she extracted her injured shoulder from the suit. She heard a swift intake of breath behind her. "It's not as bad as it looks, Pix," she said.

She felt a feathery touch on her shoulder. "This is going to hurt," Liene said, her voice low and rough. Before Faith could react to her tone, water splashed onto her shoulder. She barely suppressed a yelp of surprise when the cloth came down on her wound. The yelp turned into a gasp of pain. Swiftly and efficiently, Liene cleaned the wound, spread an ointment on it and bound it. By the time she was done, Faith was sweating from the pain, but she had not uttered another sound. "I'm sorry," Liene whispered, leaning her head against the Slayer's hunched back.

She whispered it twice more before the apology penetrated Faith's consciousness. "It's okay, Pix. Had to be done," Faith said, turning her head to look over her injured shoulder.

After a moment, the Rogue gave a weak smile. She met Faith's gaze and looked away again. "We have to go," she said, giving the act of packing her medical supplies an unusual amount of attention.

"Yeah," Faith replied, putting her armour back on and turning to look down the passageway deeper into the tomb. "A Slayer's job's never done." She did not see Liene quickly dash away unshed tears.

* * *

Two nerve-wracking hours and three torches later, they came to a large ornate door at the lowest level of the Hall of the Dead. Like the rest of the tomb, it was constructed of an extremely hard version of sandstone. So far, the echoing passageways have been deserted, but now, Faith's Slayer senses are going haywire. Whatever that is beyond that door is going to prove to be a very tough challenge.

Faith examined the doorframe to look for the little switch that they had discovered about a dozen doors back. Each had operated in the same manner and there is no reason to think otherwise now. Sure enough, about halfway down the right-hand side, she found the switch. Liene stuck the torch into the dirt floor and drew her bow. She nocked an arrow, whispered a quick chant and nodded. At the Rogue's signal, Faith flipped the switch and gave the door a push. As it swung inward, she stepped to the side to give Liene a clear line of fire.

Nothing happened. Then, barely perceptible even to Slayer hearing, a weird almost sighing noise interrupted the stillness. It quickly got louder as Faith took a few steps back from the doorway. Suddenly, glowing shrouded forms emerged from the sandstone wall next to the door. Liene immediately fired an arrow. The missile glowed blue with the power of her spell. The spectre struck by her arrow literally froze before falling to the ground and shattering.

Taking the Rogue's cue, Faith used the power of her wristbands. It was her first time calling on the power of cold and she did not know what to expect. What she did not expect was her blades turning translucent on her. A second blurred blue streak shook her out of her shock. Putting herself between the spectres and Liene, she went to work. And work she did. The spectres were far more agile than the zombies, if a lot less durable. A single swipe was usually enough to send one to the floor in hundreds of icy pieces. Unfortunately, there were many of them. Too many.

Liene was forced to drop her bow and pull out her shortsword. She was not as fast or agile as the Slayer and it showed. Blow after spectral blow slashed through her body. She cried out. Faith knew how she felt. The touch of the spectres left a bone chilling cold in their wake. The Slayer took a few steps closer to the Rogue, hoping to give her some support. Then, Liene screamed. Faith looked over just in time to see a spectre plunged a hand into Liene's back. The Rogue's scream cut off abruptly when the hand entered her. The other spectres around her floated back a little, as if to give their compatriot some room.

Faith let the Slayer in her full rein, taking down two of the spectres facing her and dashing away before the others could react. Absorbed by the sight of one of their number with its hand clutched around the hated living creature's heart, the spectres were easy targets for the enraged Slayer. Faith cut through half their number before reaching the one with its hand in Liene's body. A quick swipe cut the hand off. Severed from the body, the spectral hand quickly dissipated. Liene dropped to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. Straddling her, Faith quickly killed the injured spectre and fought off the rest with the ferocity of a cornered badger.

It was all over in a couple of minutes. Faith cradled Liene in her arms. Ignoring the aching after-effects of the spectral blows, she noted how cold the Rogue's body was. Despite that and despite the fact that her lips had turned a shade of blue that the human body was never meant to produce, Liene was not shivering. If not for the shallow breaths that Faith could feel her taking, the Slayer would have thought she was dead.

Hugging her close, Faith pawed through the Rogue's sling bag where she kept her medical supplies, or what passed for medical supplies in this magical world. The first jar she fished out was labelled in a language she could not read. The second and third objects yielded similar results. Apparently, speaking and understanding the language was as much help as the Powers were willing to impart in that department. Muttering savage curses under her breath, Faith shrugged off her own pack and rummaged through it. There seemed to be no bottom to the pack as she stuck her arm all the way up to the shoulder into it. Under the deepest layers of clothes that she could reach, her questing hand knocked against something hard. Grabbing it, she lifted it out for inspection. It was a roughly cylindrical object wrapped in cloth. It felt like a bottle and when she unwrapped it, sure enough, it was. A label, written in a bold script, identified it as "Antifreeze". It appears that someone upstairs had a sense of humour.

Faith opened the bottle and carefully poured the contents down Liene's throat. She had seen enough movies to realise the dangers of drowning someone with a too hastily administered liquid. Almost immediately, but still too slowly for the anxious Slayer, the bluish tinge faded from Liene's lips and colour returned to her cheeks.

Abruptly, Liene's eyes opened and she drew a quick breath. Faith could feel her body tense. Then, recognition seeped in and she relaxed. "That is the second time you have saved my life," she whispered. "Thank you."

Faith gave a small smile and helped her sit up. Liene was reaching for her pack when Faith's voice made her freeze. "I wouldn't have to, if it weren't for me."

Liene slowly walked over to where Faith still sat with head bowed. She reached out and gave Faith a smack on the back of her head. Faith looked up, eyes blazing. "If it were not for you," Liene said with equal fire, "I would be part of Andariel's brood, or some demon's lunch. So, if you are quite done feeling sorry for yourself, we have a staff to find."

The Rogue picked up the still blazing torch and headed for the open door, leaving a Slayer to look thoughtfully after her.

* * *

It had taken them hours to reach the room where they did find the staff clutched in the hands of a long deceased mage. It took them less than ten minutes to get back to the stretch of corridor where they fought the zombies.

"I told you grabbing the staff was a bad idea!" Faith shouted over the noise of hundreds of clicking skeletons and other assorted moaning undead. "That's what always happen in the movies. The damned mummies will come to life and get you!"

"Shut up and run!" Liene replied over her shoulder.

"That's what they always say, too. After they've woken up the entire tomb of deadboys!"

The room where the spectres had emerged from was empty except for a stone sarcophagus in the centre. Faith easily heaved the heavy lid off with a loud crash that was loud enough to wake the dead. In fact, she half expected that. But no undead assaulted them. The dried corpse in the sarcophagus did not rise up to attack. In fact, nothing happened. A plain wooden rod about the length of her arm lay on the corpse's chest, beneath its crossed forearms. Faith stared at it, images from movies entering her mind. Giving the Slayer a puzzled glance, Liene reached for it.

"Wait, Pix. This is when the dead bodies rise up and kill us."

Liene pulled her hand back. "You had a premonition." It was more a statement than a question.

"No. But it always happen in the movies."

"Movies?"

"You know. Acting. Stories."

"Plays? You are nervous because of a play?"

Faith considered her own words. It was a bit silly, but she could not quell her unease. Finally, Liene simply grabbed the staff and tugged it out from beneath the corpse's arms. She passed it to Faith with a triumphant grin. It was not until Faith was slipping the staff into her pack that the walls of the room exploded inwards. Rectangular sections of the wall scattered themselves across the floor of the room and long dead bodies started crawling out of the holes created. The pair had taken one look at the numbers and ran.

Now, they climbed swiftly up the long stairway to the desert above. About halfway up, Liene stumbled to a stop. "Go," she gasped. "I cannot go any further."

Faith knew the Rogue was hardier than that. She must still be feeling some of the after effects of the spectres' blows. "The Hell you can't," she muttered. She bent down and swept Liene off her feet. Before the girl could protest, Faith slung her over her shoulder and ran.

The second her feet touched the desert sand, the ground started to rumble. She was about ten meters away when the ground shuddered, throwing them both to the sand. They scrambled away from the tomb entrance, hindered by the shifting sands. Finally, the ground stopped shaking. They turned around.

"Damn," Faith breathed, awed. Liene made no sound.

Behind them, beyond the doorway to the Hall of the Dead, a great crater had appeared. From the plume of dust that still spiralled skywards from the doorway, the entire Hall must have collapsed when the staff left its confines.

"I guess we don't have to worry about deadboys anymore," Faith commented.

"No. We only have to worry about them," Liene replied, gesturing up the side of the dune they were on.

Faith looked up. Lined up on the crest of the dune, no doubt attracted by the noise of the Hall of the Dead collapsing, was a line of serpentmen. At least, Faith thought they were serpentmen. They had the heads and lower torso of snakes but the arms and body of men. More appeared to the sides. With the crater behind them, they were effectively surrounded.


	10. Announcement

As you have noticed, this story has not been updated for a while now. This is not unusual, as it has happened before. However, this time, it has been put on hold the last few months for several reasons:

1. The page where I get all my Diablo quotes from has suffered a major zap and no longer has those quotes. It means that I have to play through the game again to get all the quotes down right. Not that much of an issue with my level 80+ Sorceress at Normal difficulty, but still a pain in the rear and still takes time.  
2. I have been working on a Masters in Business Administration degree whilst working full-time, and have managed to get through half the course in 10 months (and plan to go through the other half in the next 6) so writing fanfic has been pushed even further back on the backburner.  
3. Several other stories have grabbed my attention in the meantime,  
including a Battletech/Mechwarrior one and my original fiction. I do apologise for that. My mind is very chaotic like that. I have since completed the Battletech story and will now alternate between its sequel and this one.  
4. I dislike immensely having to reinvent the wheel every time I post. In the beginning, it was a simple matter to delineate between scenes by the expedient means of a line of dashes. Now, that is no longer recognised and I have to devise other ways to do so. I find that extremely annoying and time consuming, and I can only imagine what changes has been wrought since.  
5. I have a moral objection to sites that edit the contents of any published material without notifying the author. If you are going to change the rules,  
that is your prerogative. However, if you are going to edit the contents of someone's story because of those changes, at least have the decency to notify them of the change. After all, if you are going to spend umpteenth hours looking through all the stories to find violations to your new law,  
spending an extra couple of minutes to send the author an email or a note is not a big ask.

Accordingly, I have spent some time looking for another site that will host my fanfic, which added to the delay. I have since found that site, and this story will be duplicated there sometime in the near future. I will leave this story up here for now. However, only the one in the new site will be updated from here on in. I will still be using my penname of William Jamieson there.

I am fairly certain that this site's administrators will throw a fit if I reveal the name of the new site, and since I would like this notice to remain up for as long as possible, I will not do so. However, feel free to drop me an email at shadsix hotmail . com asking for the site name. I would be happy to direct you to it.

Thank you to all my readers and reviewers for the time they have put into reading and reviewing this fanfic thus far. I can only hope to continue to live up to your expectations.

Long life and blessed be.

Warmest regards,  
Adrian 


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